Beautiful
by CelestialMoon17
Summary: written PreHBP Sequel to 'You Can't Change Perfection'. Ginny's been having issues with her boyfriend Dean. Can Harry help her change her ways?


Hello all. I'm back for the sequel to my latest one-shot, 'You Can't Change Perfection.' Trust me, it'll be worth it.

Note: The first half of the story will take place during the first story, but told from Harry and Ginny's perspective. The second half will revolve around Harry and Ginny, and I'm including Dean in this one, and if he seems to be a big giant git, I'm doing it to add to the story, so he is going to end up a little OOC. But I'm rambling now, so I'll shut up.

On with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, so please don't sue. And the song is by the best band in the world (in my opinion anyways!) HIM.

'Beautiful' – a Harry/Ginny song fic. (And sequel to 'You Can't Change Perfection.')

It was a typical Friday night in the Gryffindor tower at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The girls were lounging on the couch, leafing through magazines. The boys were on the floor playing wizard's chess and discussing Quidditch. But there were the odd few who were actually doing their homework. Including one Hermione Granger, who had her nose in the books, and thatwasn't unusual. What was unusual, was that her best friend Ron Weasley was sitting next to her, doing his homework, and Ron was best known for leaving his homework until the last minute. Sometimes literally.

But upon closer inspection, notice that Ron is only giving off the _pretense_ that he is doing his homework, when in fact, he is staring avidly at his friend, who seems oblivious to his scrutinizing gaze. What he is also unaware of, is the staring done by two mischievous girls, otherwise known as Parvati and Lavender. They were whispering animatedly at each other, and throwing him the occasional glance. A few minutes pass, and the two girls get up, and approach Hermione.

"Coming upstairs Hermione?" Parvati asked, hiding a giggle.

Hermione looked up from her homework, and Ron quickly looked away, down at his book, _The History of 17th Century Goblins,_ which seemed completely boring at this point. He knew his ears were red, and prayed Hermione wouldn't notice.

"What for?" she asked, shaking her head slightly. Once again Ron felt himself entranced by her hair. It was bushy, and curly, and . . . completely perfect.

"We need to have a 'talk'" Lavender said, barely suppressing a giggle.

Hermione gave the girl a slightly suspicious glance, and stared back a her homework. She sat there a moment, before heaving a sigh that didn't go unnoticed by Ron, who was sure his whole face was red at this point.

"I guess so. I needed a break anyways." She said, getting up from the table. Ron felt a twinge of disappointment.

Soon, the girls had disappeared up the staircase and into the forbidden girls dorm. (Ron was _still_ trying to figure out why girls were allowed in the boys side, but guys weren't allowed on the girls side.) Heaving a sigh that mirrored Hermione's moments earlier, he abandoned his homework and flopped on the now vacant couch.

"Having fun?" A voice made him look up. He locked eyes with none other than his best mate Harry Potter, who was looking at Ron with a rather amused expression on his normally passive face.

"Does it look like it?" he grumbled slightly.

"Not really." Harry replied, flopping down next to him.

"I wonder what the girls are talking about." Ron said absent-mindedly.

"Oh they're not talking." Harry said lightly. "They're playing truth or dare."

Ron raised an eyebrow at him. "And how the bloody hell do you know that?"

Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "Ginny told me."

"_Ginny?_" Ron stared at Harry in disbelief. But Harry said nothing. He was staring at Dean and Seamus who were deep in conversation. Since Dean had a stupid grin on his face, Harry could only assume that he was talking about Ginny. Harry felt could feel his blood starting to boil. _Stupid git. What does she see in him anyways?_ Ginny and Dean had been dating for more than a few months now, but Harry was _still_ not used to seeing them together, and truth be told, he didn't think he ever would.

Harry felt a funny pang in his stomach every time he saw them holding hands, or worse yet- kissing. _Maybe I'm jealous. _Harry thought distractedly. He had been feeling weird around Ginny for awhile now. He could never fully look her in the eye anymore, and when she was around, he could feel his face heat up. He knew that Ron acted that way around Hermione, and everyone knew why. But Harry _couldn't _like Ginny. She was his best mate's _sister_ for Merlin's sake! But she was so beautiful. Harry couldn't help imagining what if would be like if she dated _him_ instead of that bloody prat _Dean-_

"What are you staring at?" Ron asked, cutting Harry off from his thoughts.

"Nothing." He replied. A little too quickly.

"No really. You can tell me." Ron said.

"It's nothing." Harry said, getting up. Ron gave him a dark look. "Come on, let's play wizard's chess." He knew Ron wouldn't say no, and perhaps he could side skirt an awkward issue that even _he_ hadn't fully explored yet.

"Sure . . . I guess so."

So Harry retrieved the board (which was on the floor) and they played chess, with Ron winning as usual. The conversation passed onto other things, much to Harry's relief.

But it was not forgotten.

* * *

Ginny awoke early the next morning, according to their plan. The previous evening, the girls had spent the better part of three hours playing truth or dare, and some very interesting things occurred. Namely Hermione picking dare, and agreeing to having a 'make-over' done on her. Ginny was actually excited about it, more so than going to Hogsmeade. She heaved a small sigh as she got out of bed and got dressed. She remembered all too well the conversation she had had with Dean last night._Flashback _

_Ginny was sitting by the fireplace, reading a novel. It was early Friday afternoon, and classes had just ended. She felt warm and cozy and content and smiled softly to herself. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up into the smiling face of Dean._

"_Hey stranger." She said, smiling back at him._

"_Hey yourself." He said, bending down to kiss her on the cheek, and sitting down next to her. Ginny felt slightly put out, because normally when he kissed her, she felt all warm and fuzzy. Today she felt . . . normal. **Who knows? Maybe I'm just tired. **She thought to herself. **Yeah that must be it.**_

"_What's up?" she asked, to distract any oncoming thoughts. Now she noticed that he wasn't smiling anymore, but rather frowning a bit._

"_Dean?" she inquired, wondering what was wrong._

"_Um . . Ginny, about tomorrow . . . " he trailed off, and Ginny could see where this was going. She felt anger flare in her, and tried to control it._

"_Let me guess: you want to ditch me and go hang out with your other friends at Hogsmeade."_

"_No Ginny it's not like that-" Dean began, but Ginny already knew._

"_Yes it is! You've been ditching me for your friends for the last two weeks! I thought you were my boyfriend Dean!"_

"_I am." He replied softly._

"_Well then start acting like it." Ginny said icily. She got up, and stormed off towards the staircase, but Dean's next words stopped her._

"_I promise I'll spend all day Sunday with you."_

_Ginny turned around, now slightly calmer. She regarded him with a cool gaze._

"_Do you really and truly promise?" she asked, taking the bait, and hoping that it was true._

"_Yes Ginny. Yes." Dean crossed the room in an instant, and pulled her into his embrace._

"_I care about you." He whispered into her ear. Normally these were moments that Ginny looked forward to, but she couldn't seem to enjoy it today. **I really should go take a nap. It may make me feel better. **She thought. _

"_I care about you too." She whispered back, feeling slightly guilty for some reason. Pulling out of his embrace, she turned to go back upstairs._

"_Where are you going?" he asked, confused._

"_I'm going to go take a nap." She faked a yawn. "I'm a little tired."_

_But sleep was the furthest thing on her mind as she made her way into the cool interior of her dorm. **What's wrong with me? **She wondered, flopping onto the bed, and letting her thoughts wander . . . _

_End flashback_

Now at 6:30 AM on a Saturday morning, Ginny _still _didn't know the answer. And she was very tired. She was plagued with dreams of the one person that she swore she was over and done with. None other than the Boy-who-lived Harry Potter himself. _Damn it! _Ginny mentally swore, making her way to Hermione's dorm. Plastering a smile on her face, she opened the door.

* * *

Sunlight was stabbing at the inside of Harry's eyelids, waking him up in the most rude way. Opening his eyes, he immediately closed them, seeing dancing spots behind his eyes.

"Who in the bloody hell opened the shades?" he grumbled.

"Me." Daring to open his eyes, Harry found that it wasn't so bright, and he also saw Ron standing by his bed.

"What-" Ron cut Harry off.

"It's after nine mate."

"WHAT?" this woke Harry up fully as he practically flew out of bed, and began rummaging through his trunk to find something to wear.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Harry asked, pulling a shirt over his head.

"Because we were up late last night, and I wanted you to sleep in a little."

"Why didn't you sleep in?" Harry asked, yanking on his pants.

"Because I just happened to wake up early." His friend replied. "Here." He handed Harry a pair of socks, feeling slightly sheepish.

"Thanks." He said grudgingly, putting them on and then rushing to the unoccupied bathroom to fix his hair, brush his teeth, etc.

Ron shook his head at his friend, and sat on his bed to wait.

_Downstairs in the hallway_

Despite Harry's waking up later than usual, they were still amongst the first people to reach the hall.

"Breakfast?" Ron asked.

"Nah I'll grab a butterbeer later." Harry said.

"Suit yourself."

The minutes ticked by, and more people were arriving. Both Ron and Harry were looking expectantly for Hermione and Ginny, but neither girl had appeared thus far.

"What's taking the girls so long?" Harry asked, glancing at his watch for the fifth time in ten minutes. "If they don't get here in five minutes, we're going to miss the carriages!"

"Relax Harry! Girls are _always_ late. It's just something you have to get used to." Seamus said calmly.

"But Ginny and Hermione are _never _late."

"Well there's a first time for everything." Seamus replied, suddenly his eyes widened, and he goggled at the sight before him. Harry and Ron followed his gaze, and felt their own mouths drop open in utter shock.

Lavender, Parvati, Ginny, and Hermione were coming down the stairs, and everyone seemed to be staring at them. Especially Hermione.

"Wow! Is that . . "

"HERMIONE?" Both Ron and Harry rubbed their eyes to make sure that they weren't seeing things, and they weren't. Harry was in utter shock. _She doesn't even look like herself! _He thought. Meanwhile, he felt Ron poking him rather hard in the ribs.

"Ouch Ron, that was uncalled for."

"Sorry mate." He said, not sounding one bit sorry.

"What's got your dander up all the sudden?"

Hermione and Ginny were heading towards them now, followed by Parvati and Lavender. Harry smiled at them, and turned to Ron, who was had an unreadable expression on his face.

"I gotta go. Be right back." He muttered to Harry, and was elbowing his way through the crowd before Harry could say anything. The girls had now joined up with the boys.

"Where's Ron going?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure. He said he'd be back later though. You sure look pretty Hermione." Harry said, feeling slightly awkward. He could see Ginny looking rather uncomfortable out of the corner on his eye.

"Thanks." She grinned at him, and for a split second Harry had an image of kissing her. But only for a split second. _What am I thinking? We both know it wouldn't work. _Shaking his head, he grinned back.

"So . . . what do you want to do today?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I wanted to go get some new books, because I've read all my new ones that I got for Christmas, as well as all the interesting ones in the library so far."

"Alright then, the bookstore it is!" Harry declared, making both Ginny and Hermione laugh. _This is going to be a good day . . ._

* * *

The walk to Hogsmeade was fun. Ginny was watching everyone compliment Hermione, and was amused at the look of bewilderment on her friend's face. She heard Lavender give her a 'I told you so' kind of talk, after some handsome 7th year Hufflepuff paid her a compliment.

"See? Didn't I tell you that you were pretty?"

"I suppose." Hermione answered. Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Hermione roll her eyes. She chuckled softly.

"What?" Harry asked her. She whirled around to face him, unaware that he had been walking right behind her. She could feel the smallest hint of a blush on her cheeks. _Idiot! You're over him, remember?_

"Nothing." She replied airily. Harry shrugged and they continued on their way.

Once they had reached Hogsmeade, they bade goodbye to the others, and Harry took Hermione and Ginny into the bookstore. The girls began eagerly browsing the shelves, looking for anything interesting. A few minutes later, Harry bade them goodbye.

"Um . . . I have to and do something. I'll meet you in the Three Broomsticks in an hour, alright?"

"Yes that sounds fine Harry." Hermione replied, her thoughts clearly on something else.

_ I wonder where he's going?_ Ginny wanted to follow him, but as if he had known she would, he gave her a tiny wink and shook his head. Again she felt her face heat up, and cursed herself for being so childish. She turned back to Hermione, who already had a small pile of books in her arms.

Shaking her head and smiling to herself, Ginny hummed a small tune as she picked out two new books of her own. _It feels so good to afford new things now! _She had spent the previous summer working in the joke shop of Fred and George, who had paid her a tidy sum. _Well at least our family is making a good income now. Ironic that it would come from the two people who are practically allergic to the word 'work'. _

"Now where to?" Hermione asked, ten minutes later as they emerged from the store, Hermione carrying two large, bulging bags, and Ginny carrying a small bag.

"Well, I _did_ want to go to the store that sells Quidditch supplies, because I finally have enough money to buy myself a new broom." Ginny was very happy that she was finally going to get a new broom. _Especially since a match with Slytherin is coming up fast! If I get my new broom, we're going to do extremely well. _She saw Hermione make a face, and she laughed.

"Ok. Ok. we can always go later then." She made her face all sad, which she knew annoyed Hermione to death.

"No it's fine. I'll just . . . wander around I guess."

"Are you sure?" Ginny really didn't want Hermione to be walking around alone. _Not dressed like that. She may get the wrong kind of attention._

"Yes it's fine. Go. Have fun."

Ginny shrugged, and left her friend, but not before giving her one last glance. Then she set of at a fast walk to the quidditch store. _Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get a Nimbus 2001. Maybe they'll have a sale or something. _Soon enough she reached the store, and it didn't look too busy. She stepped inside, and the bell jingled.

"Welcome to The Hogsmeade Quidditch Supply store. How can I help you?" A heavy set women with blonde hair smiled at her.

"Hello, I'm looking for a new broom." Ginny smiled back at the woman, and took in the familiar objects that she used in her quidditch practices. There were bludgers set up on display with heavy chains around them. Red quaffles saton the shelf, and golden snitches were flying around the room at random speeds. Hanging on the wall were several brooms. There was also a rack of quidditch supplies, such as gloves, boots, and other garments that quidditch players needed to wear on the pitch.

"Splendid! And what's your price range?" the woman was asking, cutting Ginny off from her musings.

"Um, around 300 galleons."

"Well that'll get you a fairly good broom there missy!"

Ginny smiled again. "Enough for a Nimbus 2001?"

"Not quite. But we do have a Nimbus 2000 on sale for 289 galleons."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure."

The woman went into the back, and Ginny wandered around the room, wondering what Harry was doing, and why he had gone alone. _Well whatever it was, I'll find out soon enough. _Harry often confided in her, secrets he hadn't even told Ron. It made her feel rather important.

"Here we are!" the woman came out lugging the Nimbus 2000. Ginny remembered Harry's old broom, and this one matched his exactly. Ginny also knew it went pretty fast. She didn't even think twice.

"I'll take it!" she said.

"Great! If you'll just come over here."

As Ginny paid for her broom, she felt herself growing excited for the practice tomorrow. _Wait until everyone sees my new broom! _

"Thanks for your help." Ginny said, carrying her new broom in a large bag over her shoulder.

"No problem dearie! Come back soon!"

"I will." As Ginny came out of the store, she remembered what Harry had said, and decided to go to the Three Broomsticks a little early. When she reached it, however, she saw Harry leading Hermione out. Puzzled, she approached them.

"But first, we just need to find Ginny." She heard Harry saying.

"No need to do that, I'm right here!" she called out cheerfully. They both turned around, and Ginny's smile faltered. The look on Hermione's face resembled a scared rabbit.

"What's up?" she asked.

She saw them both exchange a glance, and Hermione shook her head.

"Something bad has happened to her." Harry said.

"Oh no!" Ginny cried, giving Hermione a hug, and still managing to keep her broom on her shoulder.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked.

Hermione shrugged, and Ginny felt so helpless all of the sudden.

"Maybe she just needs some time alone." Harry said.

Her mood now pensive, Ginny and Harry returned to the castle early with Hermione right by their side. No one spoke until they reached the fat lady portrait.

"Back early I see." She said, and then eyed Hermione. "My dear! What's wrong?"

"We'll tell you later." Harry said. "Canary cream." The fat lady let them in, keeping a watchful eye on Hermione until she had to close. Once they were in the common room, Hermione took a seat on the couch, and stared into the roaring fire. Ginny quickly ran upstairs to deposit her new broom on her bed. When she returned, she approached Harry, who was looking rather worried. He heaved a sigh.

"Let's go for a walk." He said, offering her his hand. She took it, grateful for the comfort, and off they went for a much needed walk, while Hermione got her much needed rest.

Their walk took them down to the lake. It was early march, so it was still a little chilly. _I really shouldn't be holding hands with Harry, since I **am** dating Dean, but it's cold. _They were silent for a few moments, and then Harry started talking.

"What was that package you were carrying over your shoulder?"

"Oh!" Ginny had all but forgotten about her broom in light of her worry over Hermione.

"I got a new broom."

"That's great!" Harry beamed at her. "Well we have practice at 9am tomorrow."

"I know. I'll be there."

"What are you doing with yourself after practice?" the words were out before he could stop them. Ginny looked at Harry with a wistful smile on her face. "Actually I'm spending the day with Dean. _Hopefully._" She added under her breath.

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Well perhaps after dinner if you wanted to play chess or something-"

"That would be great!"

_Ok . . . he's excited to spend time with me? _Ginny felt her heart start beating loudly in her chest. _I can't read too much into this, and besides, it's not like Harry is my boyfriend or anything. He's just my friend, **and** there's Dean. But still-_

And while Ginny was having a mental argument with herself, Harry was busy berating _himself. _

_Merlin! Why did I say that? Now she's going to think I like her! But I don't! I can't like her. She's Ron's sister! Not to mention that she's dating that stupid git Dean. She could do so much better than him- NO! I DO NO LIKE GINNY MORE THAN A FRIEND-_

"Harry?" Ginny's voice startled him out of his reverie.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about. Um . . . tomorrow's practice! Yeah! And how good it'll be now that you have a new broom."

"Yeah it'll be fun. That's for sure."

They had gone in one big circle around the lake, and were now back at the castle entrance. Wordlessly they went in and made their way back to Gryffinor Tower. When they gave the fat lady the password and stepped into the common room, Harry and Ginny could only gaze at the scene before them. The common room was fairly crowded, because everyone had returned from Hogsmeade, and they were all cheering and clapping at Ron and Hermione, who were-_kissing?_

"Hermione?" Ginny asked, at the same time as Harry asked "Ron?"

They broke apart, and the crowd thinned out. The both looked rather sheepish.

"I see you're back to normal." Ginny said to Hermione, while Harry gave Ron a '_finally! you idiot!'_ look.

"Yeah well let's just say I had someone tell me I looked fine the way I am." Hermione blushed and look up at Ron, who was grinning at her.

"Well I guess we don't have any more work to do." Ginny said to Harry as they made their way to the couch, and sat down.

"No I guess not." Harry was actually kind of sad about it. Talking with Ginny about how to get his two best friends together had been fun, and it had been an excuse to spend more time with her. Now he couldn't spend a lot of time with her without it being obvious that he liked her. _But I don't! It's Ginny Weasley! She's Ron sister! But she's also a girl. A very cute girl. And she's got one hell of a personality-_

t this point in time, Dean had come in with his friends, talking and laughing about some joke Seamus had said. Ginny spotted him, and ran over to greet him with a hug, which was half-heartedly returned.

"Did you have a good time?" she asked, trying to act happy to see him. _And I am! But I wish he had come in later, so I could've spent more time with Harry . . . wait! What am I saying?_

"Yeah I had an awesome day! I looked for you, but I didn't see you. Did you leave early or something?" Dean asked, looking rather suspiciously at Harry. Ginny decided to be as truthful as possible.

"Yeah I left a little early. I was feeling rather ill, and Hermione came back with me." She indicated the girl, who was now attached to Ron's side. Dean's eyes widened. "Wow, so they finally got together huh?"

"Yes. They make a cute couple don't they?" _Hint, hint Dean_. Ginny thought. But Dean didn't get it.

"I suppose. Do you know what's for dinner? I'm starving."

Ginny made a noise of disgust.

"I don't know. Go find out for yourself." And she stalked off, leaving a confused Dean in her wake.

* * *

"Do I really have to do this?"

"You knew the consequence."

"But come on! Don't you think that's a little . . . unsanitary?"

"Hey you were the one who suggested it. Not me."

"But I was joking!"

Hermione, Parvati, Lavender, and Ginny were in the girls dorm. It was nearly midnight. When Parvati and Lavender had returned and saw that Hermione was back to 'normal' they proceeded to Neville, who had let them borrow Trevor for the night. Hermione had spent the last 4 hours arguing. Ginny was watching her with a rather thoughtful look on her face. She was still rather upset at Dean. _First he blows me off to spend a Hogsmeade day with his friends, and then totally ignores me when he comes back. Some boyfriend I have!_

"Still . . . you agreed to it, and we're witnesses to it." Parvati was saying. Lavender nodded, and Ginny nodded as well, though she was slightly distracted. After received a glare from Hermione, Ginny tried to cheer up a little. _I guess it's not every day that your friend has to kiss a frog. _Smiling now, Ginny waited to see what Hermione's response would be . . .

"Fine. I'll do it, but you had better not tell anyone. I hear one word of this, and you will all face the wrath of my wand, and limitless horde of gruesome hexes."

All the girls swore to secrecy, knowing that Hermione wasn't kidding. Lavnder held out Trevor. Hermione took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and leaned in to kiss the frog . . .

"EWWWWWWWWWWWW!" she yelled, five seconds later. She spit into her hand, and held a look of pure disgust. Lavender, Parvati, and Ginny were rolling around the floor, laughing so hard they couldn't breathe.

"Some help you are." Hermione muttered, running towards the bathroom. Meanwhile, the girls had calmed down somewhat.

Lavender and Parvati were congratulating themselves on a job well done and Ginny, suddenly feeling tired and drained of energy, excused herself. Once she was back in her own dorm, and in her own bed, Ginny fell asleep, her dreams dark and troubled. When her alarm rang at 8am, she groaned loudly. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Ginny got dressed in her practice gear, and proceeded to go down into the great hall for some breakfast. It was nearly empty, because all of the smart people were in bed. _Why did Harry want to practice at 9am? Is he crazy?_

"Morning Ginny!" stifling a yawn, Ginny turned in her seat to see the object of her most recent thoughts striding towards her.

"It's a nice day out." Harry said, taking a seat next to her.

"How can you tell? It's still dark out." Ginny grumbled. Harry laughed, and Ginny suddenly felt much more awake.

"Well it's better to practice early. It'll wake you up a little." She was suddenly aware that Harry was looking at her.

"You look like you didn't get much sleep last night."

Ginny shrugged and turned back to her porridge. Luckily for her, the other teammates arrived, saving Ginny from having to talk to Harry until they got onto the pitch. Ron looked more tired that she, and it rather amused her.

"Alright everyone!" Harry yelled. "I'm going to release the bludgers!"

Everyone mounted their brooms. Ron eyed Ginny's suspiciously.

"Where'd you get the Nimbus 2000?" he asked.

"At the Quiddtich store in Hogsmeade yesterday."

"What?" Ron yelled.

"Well unlike _you_ brother dear, I actually _save_ my money, and I had enough to buy a broom."

"Why you-" Ron spluttered. But at that moment, the bludgers were released, and the quaffle was thrown into the air. Practice had begun.

Ginny was right. With this broom, she flew better than she ever had before. Her flying seemed to give the team more morale. Everyone was playing better as a result. It was one of the best practices they had ever had. Towards the end of practice, it began to rain. Ginny laughed as she flew down the pitch feeling more alive in that single moment than she had in her whole life.

"Alright! Let's bring it in!" Harry called a few minutes later. Ginny reluctantly flew to the ground and dismounted. Suddenly she felt something wet hit her. It was mud. She turned and saw Ron looking a little too innocent.

"RON!" she yelled.

"I didn't do anything." Came his reply.

"I'm going to get you for that you bugger!" she shouted, and pelted her own mud ball at him. It hit him square in the back. Ron stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to face her.

"THIS MEANS WAR!" he yelled.

In seconds, pandemonium had broken out. People were flinging mud everywhere, and slipping in the mud puddles while rain poured over them. Ginny threw mud at Harry, who growled and tackled her to the ground. Now she was covered with mud from head to toe. Harry smirked at her, and started to get up.

"Oh I don't think so, Mr. Potter." She said, sticking her foot out to trip him. He landed face first in the mud. Ginny laughed triumphantly. Harry got up, and wiped the mud off his face, and glasses. _He looks so hot right now. I could totally just grab him and kiss him- _Ginny was hit with mud from behind, and she turned to find her next victim, running and yelling like a banshee.

Harry stood and watched his team mates have their fun. Especially Ginny. When he'd tackled her to the ground, he had to use all of his willpower to not kiss her. _Dean totally doesn't deserve someone as beautiful,smart, and as talented as her. _Harry thought. Suddenly he felt something wet hit the back of his head. Turning around, he saw Ron running off. Picking up some mud, Harry once again joined the fray.

A few minutes later, the team collapsed in the locker rooms, thoroughly exhausted, but content.

"Great practice guys." Harry said, and paused for a moment. "And that was an awesome mud fight!" the team cheered loudly.

"Well I guess there's no point in changing right now. We'll just get these cleaned for next week's match." Harry said, dismissing them. Ginny was the last to leave.

"What's up?" Harry asked her.

"Nothing." She replied absently. _Why am I cursed with liking such an unobtainable guy?_

"Well . . if you're sure . . . "

"I'm fine." Ginny said, forcing a smile.

"I'm on my way out now if you wanted to join me."

"Sure."

They walked up to the castle, Ginny's mood still euphoric. When they reached the castle doors, they found a little surprise, however.

"Good morning Ginny."

"Dean!" she exclaimed. Looking down at herself, she suddenly felt awkward. "I can explain-"

"Actually I need to talk to you." He gave Harry a look. "Can we have a moment?"

"Yeah sure." He gave Ginny a sympathetic look before heading into the castle.

"What's up?" Ginny asked.

"Let's take a walk."

They walked the same route that Harry and her had taken the previous evening. But this time it was very different.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking about us over the past few days." Dean began.

"Oh." Ginny wasn't stupid; she knew where this was going, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"And I've noticed that you seem rather . . . distant." Ginny had to use all of her willpower to keep from laughing. _Me? Distant? It's **him** who's being distant._

"And you've been spending most of your time with Harry- which is ok." He said quickly, upon seeing the look on her face. "I'm not saying you can't hang out with other guys, but you haven't been spending time with me."

There was silence for a few moments.

"Do you have anything to say?" Dean asked.

"Not really." Ginny replied, and it was the truth.

"Yeah that's the other thing. You don't seem like you care all that much about anything except quiddtich. I mean, look at you! You're a mess!"

"Well it was raining, and there was tons of mud and-"

"Save it Ginny. The point I'm trying to make here, is that you don't spend enough time on your appearance."

"Come again?"

"Ginny. I don't think this is working out."

"And why not?" Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the anger rising in her.

"Well you're into quidditch and stuff like that. The truth is . . . I need a girlfriend who cares about what she looks like. Someone who takes pride in their appearance."

Ginny stood there, rigid with shock. _So I'm not pretty enough for him? _

"Well let me tell you something _Dean._" She said when she found her voice.

"Before you continue, I want to let you know that I wasn't planning on breaking up with you, but seeing you looking like this really took the cake-"

"DEAN YOU ARE THE SHALLOWEST GIT I HAVE EVER MET! HOW DARE YOU BREAK UP WITH ME BECAUSE I'M NOT PRETTY ENOUGH? YOU'RE A WORLD CLASS PRAT! I HOPE YOU AND YOUR TROPHY GIRLFRIEND ROT IN HELL TOGETHER!"

And then Ginny ran. She ran away from Dean and his hurtful words. Away from everyone. Away from her stupid, ugly self.

* * *

"Hey, has anyone seen Ginny?"

"Not since this morning."

I It was nearly dinnertime, and Harry had been worried all day about Ginny. He hadn't seen her since he had left her with Dean. Dean had come in about an hour after he had left them. He didn't talk to anyone, and went straight up to the dorm. _Something must have happened. _Harry thought. He decided to leave Ginny alone for awhile, but now it was early evening, and Ginny still hadn't turned up.

"Maybe we should go look for her." Harry said to Ron and Hermione, who had stopped snogging long enough to hear what had happened earlier. Now they were both worried.

"I'll go look for her." Ron said unexpectedly.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"She's my sister. Of course I'm sure." Ron said, and walked towards the portrait hole.

"I hope she's ok." Hermione said.

"Me too." Harry said. Something in his voice must have given him away, because when he saw Hermione looking at him with a knowledgeable smirk on her face he couldn't help but blush.

"You fancy her, don't you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"So what if I do?" this answer astounded both of them. Hermione raised an eyebrow, and Harry nearly fell over. _Did I just admit that I fancy Ginny out loud?_

"This is great! I always knew you'd come around. Ginny's a great girl."

"I know." Harry sat back on the couch and closed his eyes. Hermione sat next to him, and sighed.

"I just hope Ron finds her quick."

"Yeah."

They said nothing more, but simply sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

_Meanwhile _

"Have you seen Ginny?" Ron asked everyone he saw. So far, no one had seen her.

"Are you sure she's not in her dorm Mr. Weasley?" Professor Mcgonagallasked.

"I'm certain. No one has seen her all day."

"Hmm." Her face now looked troubled. "Well then I'll give you permission to search outside, but the moment it gets too dark, you're to come straight inside, and we will go search for her. Is that clear?"

"Yes m'am." Ron said, and went outside.

"Ginny! Where are you?" he called.

There was no answer.

_Ginny you'd better be ok. _He thought. Ron made his way down to Hagrid's hut, and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. _Damn. _He thought. Ron decided to try down by the lake. _Maybe she took a walk. _As Ron walked, he thought about the events of the previous day, and of his new found relationship with Hermione. In fact, he became so distracted with his thoughts, he almost didn't hear the sniffling down by the rocks.

"Ginny?" he called out.

Ron heard more sniffling, and went down to the shore to investigate. There, sitting on a huge rock was Ginny, her quidditch robes now caked in dry mud.

"Ginny!" he yelled. She turned around, and he could see that she had been crying. He pulled her up off the rock and hugged her.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." She said, pulling away.

"Why did you run off like that? You scared the crap out of us!" Ron said sternly.

"Sorry."

"It's ok. Just tell people where you go next time, ok sis?"

She gave him a weak smile. It was now getting dark, and she felt cold and numb from sitting for so long.

"Come on, let's go and get some food. You must be hungry."

"Starved." She replied. She remembered Dean saying how starved he was the evening before-_ No. I will not think of that slimy git. _She walked up to the castle with quick paces, leaving Ron hurrying to catch up with her.

"Are you sure nothing's the matter?" he asked, as they reached the castle gates.

"I'm fine." Ginny said through gritted teeth. Ron shrugged and they made their way towards Gryffindor tower, where they were welcomed with feverish delight.

"Ginny!" Hermione threw herself at the younger girl. "Don't ever run away like that again!"

"Sorry to scare you." Ginny said, releasing Hermione. Now she had to face Harry, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"I'm glad you're safe." He said quietly.

The temptation to throw herself into his arms was nearly too much to bear. Ginny gave him a small smile, and ran up the stairs not a second too late. When she reached her dorm, she shut and locked the door. She inspected herself in the mirror, and then wished she hadn't.

Ginny was caked in mud from head to toe. And her red hair now looked brown and was messier than ever. _No wonder he broke with me! _Ginny thought sadly. _I'm not pretty. _Grimacing at her reflection, she went into the bathroom and had a shower and changed into normal clothes. When she looked in the mirror again, she had a similar reaction. _I look so plain and ugly! But that's all about to change. _Gripped with a sudden idea, she went to set her alarm for 6am-an hour earlier than she normally got up. _Ok Dean. You want a trophy girlfriend? Well watch out world, because here comes Ginny Weasley, beauty queen._

"Ginny?" came Hermione's voice.

"Yes?" she called back.

"We're going down for dinner. You coming?"

"Yeah."

She took one last look in her reflection, before heading out of her dorm, and down to dinner with Hermione and the others. _Goodbye old and ugly Ginny. Hello new and beautiful Ginny._

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _

Ginny groaned. _Why is my alarm ringing at 6am? _Then the events of yesterday came flooding back, and she got up out of bed. _Alright. Let's get to it._

"Hey Ginny, we're going to be late for school."

"Come on, hurry up in there!"

"Coming, coming!" she called, and emerged from the bathroom a completely different person from the night before. Her hair was now pulled back into a French braid, and she had on blue eye shadow, dark eyeliner, and pink lipstick. Her robes also looked much tighter so that they clung to her body and showed off her figure.

"Wow Ginny! You sure look good." Her roommate said.

"Yeah, trying to impress anyone?" her other roommate winked suggestively, and Ginny smirked.

"Hey, I was just sick of the plain old, _ugly _Weasley."

The two girls looked at each other, and shrugged.

"Well I'll be heading downstairs now." Ginny said.

"Sure. See you later."

"Later."

The common room was empty when Ginny came down. _Well that means they're all down in the Great Hall, where I can make my grand entrance! _Ginny didn't encounter anyone in the hallways either. Her heart was pounding loudly by the time she reached the great hall. Ginny took a deep breath. _Just think diva. _Ginny flung open the doors.

The lack of reaction took her by surprise. No one really seemed to notice. No one, that is, until she reached the middle of the table where all of her friends were. They were all talking, so no one noticed her at first.

"Can't a girl get some help with her breakfast?" she asked, and then all eyes were on her.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, and gave the girl a disapproving glance. Ron took one look at her, and nearly choked on his food.

"Ginny? Why are you wearing all that make-up? And I think you need to get new robes. Those ones look too small for you."

"Oh dear Ronald." Ginny said in a completely un-Ginnyish type of voice. "This is the style."

"Looking good Ginny." Seamus called. Several of the other boys around him whistled.

"Thanks." She said, winking at him. She saw him suddenly look uncomfortable, and grinned. Ginny dared to look at Harry and see his reaction. But Harry's look was almost her undoing. He looked so sad. Like his heart had been broken. Ginny stifled an urge to cry. Instead she went up to Seamus (with Dean conveniently sitting next to him.)

"Hey Seamus?" she asked in her seductive voice. He gulped.

"Could you pour me some juice?"

It was nearly too much for Harry to bear. As he watched Ginny flirt shamelessly with the guys, he could see the look of lust in Dean's eye. _I have to wonder what he said to her yesterday. _He thought. Ginny wasn't Ginny anymore. She was someone else. Someone completely different from the girl that Harry had known. He'd lost Ginny without even getting her in the first place.

For the rest of the week he walked around like he had lost his best friend, and in a way, he had, because his real best friend Ron was off busy with Hermione, or trying to keep the boys away from Ginny. Now Harry was alone again. Gloom settled over him. Even the upcoming match against Slytherin did nothing to dispel the depressive air around him. Ginny stopped showing up to practices, and finally Harry had to recruit a new chaser who wasn't nearly as good as Ginny. Things just felt like they were falling apart. Finally Sunday arrived, and with it, the grim and very real prospect of losing the game.

It was complete and total annihilation from the start. Harry wasn't flying to well to begin with, and neither were the others. Ron was especially bad, and Slytherin fans were going crazy. Malfoy was so happy at winning, he didn't even stop to tease them. He just gloated. Luckily for them the game only lasted an hour, when Malfoy caught the snitch, and they had won by over 300 points.

"Well we're out of the running." Ron said angrily in the locker room. "That was the worst game I've ever played. I have half a mind to quit now once and for all."

The others looked at Harry, who shrugged.

"Do what you want. I don't care."

And he stalked out the room, leaving shocked faces staring the spot Harry had occupied only moments before. Then everyone looked at Ron.

"Don't look at me. I have no idea what's going on." _But I have a feeling it involves a certain sister of mine._

* * *

Ron was right. Harry made his way back up to castle feeling a vortex of emotions swirling within him. _Ginny has betrayed the team, destroyed her dignity, and is being completely impossible, and yet I still feel sorry for her. _Harry had no idea where Ginny was residing these days. Or with whom. _How could she stoop so low? What happened?_ As Harry turned a corner, he saw Ginny and Seamus standing there, embracing each other. Harry felt sick. He needed to go throw up. Or run away. But his feet stood rooted to that spot, and as luck would have it, Ginny spotted him a few moments later.

"Hello Harry." She said in her new, seductive voice.

"Oh hey Harry." Seamus said, looking rather awkward. "Didn't see you there."

"Can you kindly give us a moment Seamus?" Harry asked, trying to control the rage that was building within him at an alarming rate.

"Sure."

As soon as he was out of earshot, Harry exploded.

"Ginny Weasley! I want to know what's going on, and I want to know right now!"

"Why nothing is going on Harry. Why? Do you want something to happen?"

"NO! Ginny what did Dean say to you the other day?"

"Nothing that he isn't saying now." Ginny said.

"You sick little-" but as luck would have it, Dean turned the corner with Lavender in tow. They walked by Harry and Ginny, who was now watching him. They stopped off at the end of the hallway, and suddenly began snogging, much to Harry's amazement, and Ginny's shock. She stared at the two of them going at it, and suddenly realized two things. One being how ridiculous she looked, and two being that when she was dating Dean, that she wasn't his only girlfriend. _That evil, conniving little-_

"Just a minute Harry. I have to do something first." Ginny was quickly reverting back to normal.

Without another word, Ginny stalked down the hallway towards Dean and Lavender. Harry watched with amusement as she tapped Dean on the shoulder.

"Hello Dean." She said, smiling sweetly.

"Uh kind of busy here." He replied without turning around.

"This will only take a second, I promise."

Sighing, he turned around . . . and met Ginny's hand as she slapped him across the face for all she was worth.

"You are a two-timing, slimy git and a world class prat." And then she kicked hard him in the one place where no male wants to be kicked. Dean crumpled to the floor in pain.

"What did you do that for?" Lavender asked, glaring at Ginny. "Are you a jealous little cow?"

"No. I'm Ginny Weasley. _You_ however, look like an idiot with those clothes, and that make-up, and your hair. You should really consider changing your look." And Ginny walked away, leaving a shocked Lavender, and a moaning Dean on the floor.

Ginny laughed and pulled out her French-braid, and let her hair flow loose for the first time in a week.

"Now, where were we?" Ginny asked when she reached Harry, who was looking rather speechless himself.

"uh . . . why did you change your look around, and act like a big flirt?" now it was all coming back to him. Now Ginny looked morose.

"Ginny?"

She took a deep breath, and he could sense she was holding back tears.

"Let's go." She whispered, walking quickly down the hallway in the opposite direction of Seamus and Lavender.

Once they were alone, Ginny's tears overflowed. She leaned against the wall and sobbed her heart out. Harry said nothing; he put an arm around her and said soothing words to make her feel better. At last, Ginny felt all cried out.

"Harry, I'm so sorry about quidditch and everything." She began hoarsely.

"It's ok-"

"No. No it's not. I'm sorry for acting like a total b-"

"Don't say it."

"I did though. I acted like a big one. And it was all for nothing."

"What are you talking about?"

Ginny sighed, now aware of the arm that Harry had around her.

"Well the reason Dean broke up with me, was because . . . I wasn't pretty enough."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, and then I was thinking that he was right, and I thought if I dressed up and stuff, he'd want me back, but it was a total waste of time-"

Ginny saw the look on Harry's face and fell silent.

"Ginny, Dean is such beyond a prat. What you did to him is nothing compared to what I'm going to do with him-"

"Please don't! I'm not mad at him anymore."

"But he has no right calling you ugly when you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

The words were out. Ginny gasped and stared at Harry, whose face was now bright red.

"What?" she asked, when she was able to speak.

Now there really was no going back.

"Ginny . . . " Harry moved so that he was facing her. Ginny's heart was beating wildly in her chest. He reached out, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You are so beautiful. You don't need to wear anything special, or act like a flirt. You are perfect and beautiful, and I'd very much like to kiss you now." he whispered.

Ginny felt like the world was spinning. Wordlessly she nodded, and closed her eyes. She felt him lean in, and at the last second she leaned in, and their lips met in a kiss that Ginny could only describe as 'breathtaking'.

"Wow. Even your kiss is beautiful." Harry said when they broke apart.

"So does that mean that you fancy me?" Ginny asked.

"Yes. And I'm going to assume that you must like me back if you didn't push me away."

"Maybe . . . "

"Ginny!"

"Ok. I guess I never really stopped liking you."

"Really?" Harry's face was coming closer towards hers.

"Really."

Their second kiss was just as breathtaking, and Ginny felt like she was flying without a broomstick.

"Now what do you say we go outside and play some good old fashioned quiddtich? You have a lot of ground to cover missy."

"Ok, but first I have to go change into something that's more my style."

Harry laughed.

"My beautiful Ginny."

She grinned and took off at a run.

"Race you there!"

"Hey!"

And so the race to Gryffindor tower was on, but Harry didn't care. All that mattered was that he was finally with the most beautiful person in the world.

Ginny Weasley.

A/N: Yeah it was fluffy, but fluffy is good. I hope you enjoyed it! _God bless CelestialMoon17._


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